Chris
I picked up this edition for a buck or two at a thrift shop. It contains four stories: A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Tree, Christmas Dinner, and excerpts from The Pickwick Papers.
A Christmas Carol is an absolutely classic and essential Christmas story, and I surely have no novel insight into it. It is unquestionably the best piece of the collection and by itself would have been five-star material.
A Christmas Tree is an essay in which Dickens recounts various details of a Christmas celebration from a child's perspective, including specific toys and ghost stories. While the particularities of a Victorian Christmas are interesting from a historical viewpoint, the essay comes across as rambling and tedious, especially in juxtaposition with the much superior Carol. I doubt I will ever return to this piece.
Christmas Dinner is pleasant enough and only eight pages long.
The Pickwick Papers excerpts are the other highlight of the collection, full of classic Dickensian charm. While the narrative concerning a Christmas wedding is amusing at moments, I particularly enjoyed the ghost story of Gabriel Grub.
This collection is nice on the whole, even if none of the other stories reach the soaring heights of the titular tale.
An illuminating summary of the development of the Christian conception of the afterlife. Ehrman traces humanity's ideas of the great unknown all the way from Gilgamesh to the first few centuries of Christian thought. Along the way he compellingly argues that theology has demonstrably changed over time in response to historical circumstances. Ehrman goes through the Bible with the eye of a historian, contrasting what he believes Jesus actually preached to the words he asserts were later attributed to the religious leader. The prospective reader should note that the book only deals with the Christian afterlife, as opposed to the afterlife of Islam or other traditions, in depth; there is a brief reference to Egyptian mythology in comparison to the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man from the Gospel of Luke, but that's all we get regarding concurrent religious developments. However, I do not think that the book would have been improved by broadening its scope beyond the author's areas of expertise.
Ehrman concludes Heaven and Hell with a surprisingly touching afterword about his personal beliefs surrounding death. If you are a Christian or ex-Christian, I can practically promise that this book will make you see your beliefs about the afterlife in a new light, whatever those beliefs may be. The author's rare combination of academic rigor and an approachable style makes it very easy for me to recommend this text to anyone interested in religion. I intend to return to this author.
A surprisingly gripping account of Tur's real-life experiences covering Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign for MSNBC. This isn't really a book about Donald Trump, or even about Tur's relationship with Trump, though their interactions certainly comprise some of the memoir's most entertaining moments. Unbelievable is principally concerned with the life of a journalist on the campaign trail, and as such it's filled with internal monologuing and personal details. (The campaign in question just so happens to be one of the most unpredictable and impactful in American history.) Once I learned to appreciate the book for what it was, I found myself quite entertained—and there are a few nuggets of insight into the mindset of Trump and his supporters thrown in for good measure. If the day-to-day experience of journalism at all interests you, pick this one up; you won't be disappointed.
There's a certain tension in the presentation of Fierce Love; I get the impression that Rev. Dr. Lewis wanted to write a memoir of certain spiritually significant events in her life, but the publisher requested certain changes in organization and presentation so that the book could be marketed as “self-help,” which it really isn't. Certain passages of the book, about formative moments in Lewis' journey and how they influenced her mature theology, were immensely pleasurable. The “self-help” elements (the specific organization of chapters, the important pieces of text repeated verbatim in a different font, and the redundancy of certain concepts throughout) seem a bit out of place but are fortunately not too distracting. I recommend this book for those interested in Lewis' life and work.
For a one-person project, All Tomorrows is absolutely incredible. Kosemen envisions what would happen if human beings were genetically engineered by a race of superior space aliens, then left to evolve on their own over hundreds of millions of years. His creatures and narrative are highly creative, and the quality of his illustrations is very good. Many of the post-humans presented in the book are very memorable, with my favorite being the Pterosapiens. My issues are with the book's presentation—the writing and formatting prevent complete immersion in Kosemen's imagined worlds, and the book absolutely would have benefitted from the help of a professional editor. I would be very excited to see a new edition with revised text and illustrations, but as it currently stands, All Tomorrows is better experienced through Alt Shift X's summary on YouTube, which covers all important details from the book.
I have such a complicated relationship to this book that I don't believe a star rating is even meaningful in my case. I read The Giver three times as a child and read the Spanish translation as an adult. I recall being in the fifth grade and devouring Lowry's novel in a single night, immediately recognizing it as my then-favorite book. I owe a lot to The Giver, especially my appreciation for books that speculate about future societies. While some aspects of the story now seem illogical (or conversely, too easily predictable), the book's emotional beats hit even harder now that I have a bit more experience with life. However, with an adult perspective, I can also retrospectively identify certain ways that the book actually harmed me as a child. Without getting into too much personal detail, if my child were to read this book, I would make sure to have a discussion about the differences between psychiatric drugs in the book and in real life. I would also make it clear that the existence of joy doesn't justify suffering, nor does it invalidate a society's attempts to alleviate that suffering. I don't think that Lowry necessarily intended to send harmful messages on either of these topics, but at the end of the day, this is a children's book, and the way it impacts children is important to consider.
A flawed but tremendously impactful work that changed me, both for better and for worse.
The Scientist in the Crib is a breezy and accessible overview of the (then) known science concerning the development of the mind in early childhood. The authors' central claim is that babies are much more intelligent than adults assume them to be, and that many infant behaviors are actually the baby's way of experimenting and developing ‘theories' about the world. Chapters are divided by topic, such as children's interactions with other people and language acquisition. Presumably in their effort to avoid writing a book that would intimidate non-scientists, the authors have kept the text essentially devoid of numerical data. While they explain experimental setup well enough, more detail regarding the results of the various experiments they describe would have been appreciated. I agree with other reviewers that the fifth chapter should have been cut; the authors' analogy between babies and computers is somewhat interesting, but the chapter retreads too much material from earlier in the book. The book feels the most dated when it discusses Autism Spectrum Disorder in children, which it describes as a “tragedy” for parents. The only practical advice for parents is found in the final chapter of the book, so the prospective reader should only read this volume cover-to-cover if they are interested in early childhood development for its own sake.
Schwartz's biography of one of America's all-time greatest songsmiths offers insight into elements of Cole Porter's life with which one might not be familiar just from knowing his work. Highlights include the way that his Southern rich-kid upbringing contrasted with that of other composers of the same vein, the sometimes disdainful way that Cole comported himself with others, and the extent to which his creative output was shaped by the circumstances he faced (for instance, Schwartz explains how the tune “Night and Day” was written to accommodate Fred Astaire's lackluster vocal capabilities). Schwartz strikes an agreeable balance between discussion of Porter's personal life and his artistic endeavors, something that I imagine is difficult to achieve when biographizing an artist. Survivorship bias might lead one to believe that all of Porter's output was great, but Schwartz diligently explains all of Porter's duds, too.
The book is not without its faults; Schwartz's voluminous vocabulary sometimes impedes understanding rather than enhancing it, though I suppose it's only natural that a book about such an accomplished lyricist would employ such an ample lexicon. The author also presents some quasi-Freudian speculation regarding the motives behind Cole's behavior, particularly with regard to his homosexual dalliances. I found this armchair psychoanalysis a bit off-putting.
Cole Porter will teach you about the complex man, and imperfect artist, that the titular figure truly was. The copy I read was from 1977, and I don't know if the book is in print any longer, but for Porter fans, it's worth the read if they can find a library copy.
Excellent overview of Sidney Gottlieb's life and work at the CIA, including the known details of the MK-ULTRA mind control experiments and various assassination attempts. Kinzer's prose is clear and direct without ever feeling condescending. The book essentially reads like a (gripping and disturbing) novel. Most of the details about MK-ULTRA are found within the first half of the book. However, the subsequent chapters about Gottlieb's other CIA projects, the aftermath of MK-ULTRA, and further developments in Gottlieb's life and American society are interesting as well.
Kinzer does an exemplary job of recounting Gottlieb's atrocities. However, the most unsettling revelation of all is that Gottlieb was not a uniquely evil man; he was an individual whose goals, and willingness to use alarming means to achieve them, were the products of his circumstances. Anybody could have been Sidney Gottlieb. He is all of us, and we are all him.
After my experience with Poisoner in Chief, I am looking forward to reading Kinzer's other books, such as All the Shah's Men and The Brothers.
Para ser transparente, hay algunos problemas con esta edición: el tipo de letra es un poco extraño, faltan tildes aquí y allá, y encontré un par de errores en las traducciones al inglés. Pero al fin y al cabo, este libro contiene los mejores poemas de Pablo Neruda, y sólo por eso no pude otorgarle menos de cinco estrellas. No puedo decir nada original con respecto al poeta; él escribía con una fuerza elemental. Altamente recomendado, especialmente para los anglohablantes que están aprendiendo el español y viceversa. Para mí fue muy interesante comparar cada poema con su traducción.
Obama on the Couch presents a nuanced and even-handed portrait of former President Obama, turning to his writings, speeches, and persona to determine the origins of both his facilities and his deficiencies as a world leader. I did not read Dr. Frank's other books about Presidents Bush and Trump before reading this one. While I found Obama on the Couch insightful in some ways, after reading it, I don't want to read the others. Unfortunately, Dr. Frank's inquiry finds its basis in outmoded Freudian concepts whose veracity I question. Besides, I don't need a book to tell me that Trump was and is seriously ill. After reading this work, I do feel that I understand much better why Obama was such a disappointing figure for me. However, many of the book's biggest revelations appear speculative, especially with the author's limitation of being unable to speak to the subject of his study (Dr. Frank is open about this limitation). Perhaps it's worth a read, but only because a more evidence-based psychological profile of Obama, written by one of his own therapists, will almost certainly never become available.
Interesting look into the interpersonal dynamics of the Democrats' primary campaigns, but hindered by issues with the writing. I gradually grew accustomed to Dovere's style, but having just read some much more coherently constructed non-fiction books, Battle for the Soul's style was a bit jarring. Even by the end of the book I found that some sentences were difficult to parse. Dovere's book isn't so much a work of political analysis as it is a play-by-play of who said what, when. If you want to know which Democrats told which other Democrats to go eff themselves (and I certainly do), this is your book. The focus isn't a bad thing, per se, but I would have appreciated more analysis along with the “tea.”
Dovere structures Battle in roughly chronological order, but he deviates from chronology with such great frequency that it's difficult to keep track of events at points. Dovere opens every chapter by designating the respective time period that it covers, yet some chapters begin their prose with flashbacks to events before the time period listed in bold on the very same page! It gets confusing.
The author also seems to have a strangely contemptuous view of all the candidates besides Biden—while he isn't afraid to criticize Biden, it's clear that he reserves a lower level of acrimony for the President than for any of the other candidates. One chapter opens with Andrew Yang's throwing up because he is so nervous to appear on the debate stage, and this despite the fact that Yang has no role in the rest of the chapter. Why? Am I supposed to delight in another human being's suffering just because Dovere didn't think his campaign was serious enough?
The book definitely picked up for me towards the end, as the events covered (George Floyd protests, COVID-19, concern about Trump overturning the election results) are fresher in my mind. Battle for the Soul was worth a read, but I don't think I'll be returning to more political books by this author.
Estoy de acuerdo con las críticas diciendo que El alquimista es un libro de autoayuda con disfraz de novela. Paulo Coelho hasta escribe en mayúsculas los nombres de los conceptos importantes en la vida de los personajes. No creo en los conceptos como el “Alma del Mundo” que constituyen la filosofía del libro, pero me gustó la presentación de esas ideas en forma de una parábola. Hay una mezcla interesante de referencias religiosas también.
Los dos problemas principales del texto son la filosofía ya mencionada y el sexismo. Coelho propone siempre “escuchar al corazón” y “seguir los sueños”, lo cual me parece un mensaje superficial que el lector podría haber encontrado en cualquier libro de autoayuda. Al fin, el tesoro que Santiago ha estado buscando todo el cuento es... dinero, así que el libro se presta fácilmente al materialismo. Coelho le dice al lector que todas las cosas del universo tienen su propia Historia Personal, incluso los objetos inanimados, pero sólo se presentan ejemplos de los hombres siguiendo sus destinos. La mujer más importante en el argumento, Fátima, es el amor de Santiago y nada más. Es más, está contenta sólo con esperar el regreso de Santiago, porque es una “mujer del desierto”. El lector nunca aprende cuál es la Historia Personal de Fátima, sólo que su tesoro es Santiago, un hombre.
No obstante, aunque yo no sea una persona espiritual, me gusta que este libro me haya enseñado un poco sobre cómo ven el mundo las personas espirituales. Por ejemplo, me es interesante cómo Coelho mezcla dos conceptos contradictorios, el destino y el libre albedrío. Coelho dice que Dios ha escrito un destino para todas las personas, pero muchas no escuchan las señales de Dios y como resultado no siguen su camino predestinado.
El Alquimista es un libro con imperfecciones fundamentales, pero tiene una presentación atractiva y me ayudó a entender un poco mejor la perspectiva espiritual.
Edición (dos años después): No sé que me pasaba a la cabeza cuando escribí esta reseña, pero basta decir que no recuerdo este libro con tanta afección como cuando originalmente lo leí. Ya sabiendo un poco más sobre la religión y la filosofía, puedo decir que el pensamiento de Coelho es fundamentalmente hueco, vacío, y falso. De hecho, opino honestamente que El alquimista es una de las peores obras de literatura que he leído.
A very fascinating work combining research in musicology, music history, anthropology, and philosophy to provide an overview of the interactions between humans and music. The book is divided into three sections that respectively cover the development of music within one lifetime, the development of music within recorded human history, and the development of music within evolutionary history. Spitzer convincingly argues that musical development follows fractal-esque repetitions within repetitions. The human history section in particular is excellent and offers more insight into the global history of music than some complete books written on the subject.
Spitzer is unquestionably knowledgeable and well-intentioned, but some of the book's claims are a bit off. There's an eyebrow-raising claim towards the beginning of the book that, while everyone reads new novels, concerts are struggling to find audiences. I don't think either statement is true, and the latter assertion belies a narrow, Eurocentric view of music that seems to contradict the rest of the book. I understand what Spitzer is getting at, but it's disconcerting when he asserts that, in a great historical irony, Western music is now “colonized” by African and Asian influences. (A simple change of phrasing would have made all the difference.)
As to be expected in a music book written by a musician, the science isn't 100% accurate, either. The genus Paranthropus is erroneously referred to as Homo paranthropus, for instance. To be clear, I'm also a musician by training, so there may be other errors that slipped past my radar.
An excellent work for the reader who is interested in how music has developed on a global scale, or how the philosophy and functions of music have changed over time. Despite some idiosyncrasies in the text, Spitzer absolutely accomplishes what he set out to do.
An absolutely astounding work of music history. The sheer amount of research put into this volume boggles the mind. Sublette goes to great lengths to place the music of Cuba into proper context. This isn't just music history; it's world history, linguistic history, religious history, political history. I am a lover of Latin music with a degree in music performance, and this book was still full of revelations. Reading Cuba and Its Music will illuminate the true extent to which the music of one island shaped the traditions of an entire continent. The tone is serious, but with an appropriate amount of room for humor and without getting lost in academic technicalities. If I had any criticisms of the book, they would be that I wished it included even more musical analysis—Sublette writes for the general reader—and that towards the end of the book, as more historical records become available to describe the times in question, the number of names grows a bit dizzying.The prospective reader should note that this book ends with Batista's re-ascension to power in 1952. Post-1952 developments in Cuban music are not discussed. Throughout the text Sublette references a second volume discussing Cuban music from 1952 to the present day, but as of the time of this review, 17 years after the publication of the first volume, the second has never been released. A shame, because I would love to read what Sublette has to say about more contemporary Cuban music.Coincidentally, Cuba and Its Music serves as the perfect antidote to [b:Music: A Subversive History 43886050 Music A Subversive History Ted Gioia https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550709377l/43886050.SY75.jpg 68280425], which mentions some Afro-Latin genres but does not use the word “Cuba” once. Sublette does for Cuban music what Gioia couldn't quite accomplish for the music of the whole world.In my opinion, one of the greatest books I have ever read.
A genuinely fascinating overview of the cognitive science principles that one might exploit (or find troublesome) in the course of learning a language as an adult. Some of the principles are applicable to acquisition of any skill, not just language. While the book provides some actionable suggestions for studying, I would not recommend it if you're looking for a concrete study plan. This text places the onus is mostly on the reader to apply the concepts to their own learning.
Lo que más me fascina de este libro son las entrevistas, las cuales forman la mayoría del texto. Ramos ha entrevistado a muchas figuras interesantes de diferentes países, y las entrevistas de su larga carrera como periodista le ofrecen al lector un mejor entendimiento de la política, especialmente las complejidades de la política en Latinoamérica. Y me gusta que Ramos no tema criticar a cualquier político.
Sin embargo, el capítulo introductorio no me gustó. Estoy de acuerdo que hay que tomar partido, que uno no puede quedarse neutral cuando hay una injusticia. Pero Ramos también nos dice que la ideología ya no importa, que lo que ahora importa es la rebeldía, y define esa palabra de una manera tan difusa que se puede aplicar a personas tan distintas como Barack Obama y el Subcomandante Marcos. Es más, al decirnos que la ideología no importa, Ramos se queda neutral (justo como él dice que uno no debe) e indirectamente apoya a las estructuras de poder existentes. Desafortunadamente el libro entero está lleno de errores tipográficos.
Lee este libro para aprender más sobre la política y sobre los entrevistados, no necesariamente para aprender más sobre la filosofía de Ramos.
A classic of American environmentalism. Carson writes beautifully, using everything from apt metaphors to mythological references to convey the destructiveness of the pesticides that were commonly used in her time. Additionally, she makes arguments from both a conservationist and an economic angle, which should appeal to people across the political spectrum. Silent Spring pays pronounced attention to the insect world and will remain a book of significant interest to entomology enthusiasts.
Carson goes into great scientific detail about the implications of indiscriminate pesticide use. Some of the information is timeless, such as the excellent explanation in the chapter “Elixirs of Death” of how methane is modified to produce other chemical compounds, or the overarching theme of respect for ecology. Some very specific data regarding certain animal populations in 1962, for instance, may not be as relevant to the modern reader. The book is a product of its time, and some of the language has not aged well, particularly regarding people with disabilities.
An indisputably great work, but perhaps not a conventionally “fun” one, although I don't think it has to be. While it's interesting to read about the issues of Carson's time, reading Silent Spring made me more interested in reading about contemporary environmental issues.
I suppose that The Layperson's Introduction to Selectorate Theory didn't make for as snappy of a title.Bueno de Mesquita and Smith present a compelling if not cynical theory that seeks to logically explain the behavior of political leaders. (The approach of finding the logic in the seemingly illogical reminds me of the unrelated book [b:The Mind Behind the Musical Ear: How Children Develop Musical Intelligence 5581354 The Mind Behind the Musical Ear How Children Develop Musical Intelligence Jeanne Bamberger https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1267749057l/5581354.SY75.jpg 2321178].) Brushing against conventional wisdom, the authors see democratic leaders as no more virtuous than petty dictators; in fact, they argue that the motivations of all leaders are the same. The theory's fundamental idea, that leaders prioritize their own hold on power above all other considerations, seems obvious enough, but Bueno de Mesquita and Smith explain the sometimes counterintuitive consequences of this central principle with plenty of well-chosen historical examples. The final chapter offers suggestions for how to create a more prosperous, democratic world, given that politicians are only going to act in their own self-interest.There is plenty of praiseworthy content in The Dictator's Handbook. The theoretical framework it presents is useful for analyzing the behaviors of leaders not only in government but also the private sector and even organized crime. The chapter on foreign aid was particularly well-argued and essentially flipped my position on the issue. Some of the policy proposals in the book are bold and excellent, such as the identification of the American electoral college as a vestige of slavery and the proposal for its elimination. The authors also recognize gerrymandering as an important obstacle to consider. On page 159 Bueno de Mesquita and Smith even come close to proposing democratization of the workplace.I will say, as an American, that the book somewhat misapplies its own theory when it discusses the United States. On page 125 the authors describe access to higher education and healthcare as benefits of living in a large-coalition regime, but no comment is made on how “access” to these services still excludes many people. Many examples on the book are simplified for the sake of argument, but the description of lowercase-D democrats as beholden to the people's will doesn't always bear out in reality. I wish the authors had done more analysis of the ways that propaganda and campaign finance influence the size of a winning coalition. Bueno de Mesquita and Smith seem a bit too enamored of neoliberal economic policy for my liking, which is unsurprising considering that Bueno de Mesquita transparently advertises his work at the Hoover Institution.I agree with some other reviewers that the book could have benefited from more editing. Some historical examples reappear incessantly—I'll now never forget the story of Liberia's Sergeant Doe, but one does get the feeling that the book could have been trimmed down further. Some of the writing could be cleaned up as well (different terms used to refer to identical concepts get confusing), and more graphs would have been useful to clarify the authors' excellent thought experiments.If you have an interest in government or international relations, The Dictator's Handbook is absolutely worth a read for its central ideas, even though the manner in which they are applied may not always be ideal.
Brookes does a good job of recounting the history of the guitar in America and touches upon interesting details that I, as a guitar student in college, didn't even know about. Brookes' history is interspersed with a personal narrative about the construction of his own custom-made guitar by a luthier, but this account functions mainly as a springboard for the discussion of guitar construction. The format works better than it did in [b:The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World 35820369 The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs A New History of a Lost World Stephen Brusatte https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1515529573l/35820369.SY75.jpg 56364062], which I also have reviewed.I'd be lying if I said that certain elements of the book didn't frustrate me. In light of the changing American social climate, certain passages have not aged well. While Brookes gives female guitarists their due, there's some annoying gender stereotyping sprinkled throughout, including at the very beginning. The connection of the guitar to African-American history and American racial politics is discussed, but Brookes sometimes reprints historical figures' virulent racism with little warning, which I found off-putting. Brookes' attempts at humor in the glossary were, to me, cringe-inducing. Typographical errors appeared throughout the text with surprising frequency.Are there better layperson's texts on the subject out there? I couldn't tell you, because I haven't done enough research. Guitar: An American Life can be an enjoyable read if examined with a critical eye. I don't regret having read it, but I am glad that I borrowed a library copy.
I went into this book not knowing much besides the title. I expected more of an in-depth examination of the way that music has become gradually devalued in American society. What I got was something much different but highly engaging.
How Music Got Free is one of those books you'd classify as “narrative nonfiction”: it recounts the facts of its subject with fidelity, but it reads like a fast-paced novel. Witt uses the stories of a select few key players in music technology, business, and piracy, respectively, to tell the story of the massive technological and cultural shift in 21st century music consumption. Witt's book did not teach me quite what I expected to learn, but I ended up learning a lot regardless.
The author's background in journalism is noted in the style of the text. Witt balances his wide vocabulary with clear explanations of the topics at hand, including some that are quite technical, such as the compression process used to reduce the size of .mp3 files. The result is a breezy read (I finished the book in about a week) sans condescension.
There are some mildly distracting flaws in the narrative and in its presentation. The author's insistence on providing detailed physical descriptions of the people about whom he writes is a bit jarring and cartoonish. He also takes a few political jabs at various targets—Alan Greenspan, the Iraq War, capitalism itself—and I agreed with all of these jabs, but they felt a bit out of place. I'm entering really nitpicky territory here, but Witt overuses commas, unnecessarily separating two verbs of a sentence when the subject is not restated.
If you're interested in the effect of piracy on the music industry in the 2000s, you won't regret picking up this book. Witt covers the development of the .mp3 as well, but if you are interested in that area, there are probably better texts to reference, as the engineers themselves become minor players as the narrative progresses.
Probably better for a fun read than for actually surviving, but there's a surprising amount of good information for such a short/small book. The illustrations are helpful and at times quite funny. I do have some issues with the writing; for instance, the frostbite entry references a return to “pink skin,” which not every patient is going to possess. Still, it's a charming book, and that's what it wants and needs to be.
One of the most interesting satires I've ever read. Vermes' use of first-person narration is unsettling in the right way—Hitler vacillates between humorous, fish-out-of-water misunderstandings, a few uncomfortable truths about global capitalism (with the cause, of course, grossly misattributed), and reprehensible fascist sentiment that shocks the reader into discomfort over how comfortable they've grown with him. Vermes wrote Look Who's Back in 2011 for a German audience; while similarities to a certain American President are coincidental, suffice it to say that the book has aged beautifully. Vermes demonstrates that you, yes, you, are receptive to evil if you are propagandized in the correct way. Much of the novel's humor comes from how much the world has changed since Hitler's time, but its tragedy comes from just how similar the world still is.